Brazil v Germany sees 20x increase in mobile data volume

During the World Cup semi-final match between Brazil and Germany on July 8th, there was a 20-fold increase in data volume from a single sports network (ESPN) over the mobile network.

However, when the score reached 0-5, data volume dropped off, almost back to normal levels of the previous day

At the beginning of the World Cup, there was a 2x increase in mobile video traffic during game time As the world cup has progressed, Citris reports a 3x increase in mobile video traffic during game time

Anna Yong, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Citris, commented: “Mobile video ordinarily accounts for about 60 per cent of data going over a mobile network. However, the World Cup in Brazil has had a massive impact on volumes worldwide. In the opening stages we saw mobile video volumes double during matches. As the tournament has progressed, we have seen total data volume over mobile networks increase by three times.”

“One match in particular caused a huge spike. During the Brazil versus Germany game on July 8th, we recorded a 20 times increase in data volume from a single sports network, ESPN. We noticed that when the score reached 0-5 in Germany’s favour, data volume dropped off almost back to the normal levels of the previous day. Being able to provide that type of network analysis is invaluable for operators looking to balance loads across their networks.”

“Nobody could have predicted what would happen in the match between Brazil and Germany, but clearly as word spread, through social media sites such as Twitter, about events on the pitch, people wanted to tune in wherever they were and see the goals, this meant mobile was the natural choice for many. We can see that once the score reached 0-5 and the match was effectively over, traffic dipped as people lost interest. As we look towards the final between Argentina and Germany on Sunday 12th, we expect mobile video volumes will be bigger than ever.”